Film The Best R-Rated Action Thriller Movies

List Rules Add your favorite movie to the list if it's missing, but only if it's the correct rating.

List of R-Rated action thrillers, ranked from best to worst with movie trailers when available. This list takes the best R-Rated action thrillers and pits them against each other to see once and for all what the greatest R-Rated Action Thriller movie of all time is. This list of popular R-Rated action thrillers includes information like who directed the film, when it was released and which actors starred in the movie. If you think the top R-Rated Action Thriller movie isn't as high as it should be then be sure to vote it up so it can take its rightful place among the other great R-Rated Action Thriller films on this list. If you're trying to find a specific R-Rated Action Thriller film you can search this list and filter to find what you're looking for.

List features Children of Men, The Hurt Locker and more movies.

If you're trying to find out "What are the best R-Rated action thrillers?" and "What are the most famous R-Rated action thrillers?" then this list is the perfect resource for you.

Use this list if you're looking for some new action thrillers that are rated R. Between Netflix, Hulu and other services there are thousands of great action thrillers rated R, so get out there and start watching.

Get your social network's opinion by re-ranking the list, making it votable then sharing it on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr or more. (214 items)

1

43 8

First BloodSylvester Stallone, Brian Dennehy, David Caruso First Blood is a 1982 American psychological thriller and action film directed by Ted Kotcheff, co-written by and starring Sylvester Stallone as John Rambo, a troubled and misunderstood veteran. ...more

2

38 7

Dirty HarryClint Eastwood, Don Siegel, Andrew Robinson Dirty Harry is a 1971 American action film produced and directed by Don Siegel, the first in the Dirty Harry series. Clint Eastwood plays the title role, in his first outing as San Francisco ...more

3

33 8

RoninRobert De Niro, Sean Bean, Ron Jeremy Ronin is a 1998 American spy thriller action film directed by John Frankenheimer and starring Robert De Niro, Jean Reno, Natascha McElhone, Stellan Skarsgård, Sean Bean, and Jonathan ...more

4

38 12

RamboSylvester Stallone, Julie Benz, Graham McTavish Rambo is a 2008 American-German independent action film directed, co-written by and starring Sylvester Stallone reprising his famous role as veteran John Rambo. It is the fourth installment in ...more

5

34 9

Die Hard 2Bruce Willis, John Leguizamo, Dennis Franz This film is a 1990 American action film and the second in the series. It was released on July 4, 1990. The film was directed by Renny Harlin. The novel has the same premise but differs ...more

6

31 7

Air Force OneHarrison Ford, Gary Oldman, Glenn Close Air Force One is a 1997 American political action thriller film written by Andrew W. Marlowe and directed and co-produced by Wolfgang Petersen. It is about a group of Russian terrorists that ...more

7

31 7

True LiesArnold Schwarzenegger, Eliza Dushku, Jamie Lee Curtis True Lies is a 1994 American action-comedy film written and directed by James Cameron, and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis in the lead roles with Tom Arnold, Bill Paxton, ...more

8

34 11

Point BreakKeanu Reeves, Gary Busey, Patrick Swayze Point Break is a 1991 American action film directed by Kathryn Bigelow, starring Patrick Swayze, Keanu Reeves, Lori Petty and Gary Busey. The title refers to the surfing term point break, where ...more

9

31 9

The RockNicolas Cage, Sean Connery, Ed Harris The Rock is a 1996 action film that primarily takes place on Alcatraz Island and in the San Francisco Bay Area. It was directed by Michael Bay, produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer and ...more

10

28 7

Crimson TideDenzel Washington, Viggo Mortensen, Gene Hackman Crimson Tide is a 1995 American submarine action film directed by Tony Scott, produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer. It takes place during a period of political turmoil in the Russian ...more

11

29 8

Sudden ImpactClint Eastwood, Mara Corday, Sondra Locke Sudden Impact is a 1983 American action film and the fourth film in the Dirty Harry series, directed by Clint Eastwood, and starring Eastwood and Sondra Locke. The film is notable for the ...more

12

28 9

Children of MenJulianne Moore, Clive Owen, Michael Caine Children of Men is a 2006 science fiction thriller film directed and co-written by Alfonso Cuarón. The screenplay, based on P. D. James's 1992 novel of the same name, was credited to five ...more

14

24 7

Magnum ForceClint Eastwood, Suzanne Somers, Hal Holbrook Magnum Force is a 1973 American action film and the second to feature Clint Eastwood as maverick cop Harry Callahan after the 1971 film Dirty Harry. Ted Post, who also directed Eastwood in the ...more

15

22 7

WantedAngelina Jolie, Morgan Freeman, James McAvoy Wanted is a 2008 action film which is very loosely based on the comic book miniseries of the same name by Mark Millar. The film is directed by Timur Bekmambetov and stars James McAvoy, Morgan ...more

16

22 7

Passenger 57Elizabeth Hurley, Wesley Snipes, Tom Sizemore Passenger 57 is a 1992 American action film directed by Kevin Hooks. The film stars Wesley Snipes and Bruce Payne. The film's success made Snipes a popular action hero icon. It also introduced ...more

17

30 14

Face/OffJohn Travolta, Nicolas Cage, Gina Gershon Face/Off is a 1997 American science fiction action thriller film directed by John Woo and starring John Travolta and Nicolas Cage. Travolta is an FBI agent and Cage is a terrorist, sworn enemies ...more

18

19 5

Patriot GamesHarrison Ford, Samuel L. Jackson, James Earl Jones Patriot Games is a 1992 action-suspense film directed by Phillip Noyce and based on Tom Clancy's novel of the same name. It is a sequel to the 1990 film The Hunt for Red October, but with ...more

19

21 7

Conspiracy TheoryJulia Roberts, Mel Gibson, Patrick Stewart Conspiracy Theory is a 1997 American action thriller film directed by Richard Donner. The original screenplay by Brian Helgeland centers on an eccentric taxi driver who believes many world ...more

20

19 6

Enemy of the StateWill Smith, Jack Black, Gene Hackman Enemy of the State is a 1998 American spy-thriller about a group of rogue U.S. National Security Agency agents conspiring to take out a U.S. Congressman and try to cover up. It was written by ...more

21

20 7

CrankJason Statham, Amy Smart, Dwight Yoakam Crank is a 2006 American black comedy/action film written and directed by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor and starring Jason Statham, Amy Smart and Jose Pablo Cantillo. The plot centers on a ...more

23

16 6

Kiss of the DragonBridget Fonda, Jet Li, Tchéky Karyo Kiss of the Dragon is a 2001 English-language French action thriller film directed by Chris Nahon, written and produced by French filmmaker Luc Besson, and starring an international cast of Jet ...more

24

19 9

Blade IIKris Kristofferson, Wesley Snipes, Ron Perlman Blade II is a 2002 American vampire superhero action film based on the fictional Marvel Comics character Blade. It is the sequel of the first film and the second part of the Blade film series, ...more

25

21 11

CliffhangerSylvester Stallone, John Lithgow, Janine Turner Cliffhanger is a 1993 American action adventure film directed by Renny Harlin and starring Sylvester Stallone and John Lithgow. Stallone, who co-wrote the screenplay, plays a mountain climber ...more

26

13 4

EraserArnold Schwarzenegger, James Caan, James Coburn Eraser is a 1996 American action film directed by Chuck Russell, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, James Caan and Vanessa L. Williams. The film was released in the United States on June 21, 1996. ...more

27

18 9

OutbreakMorgan Freeman, Kevin Spacey, Dustin Hoffman Outbreak is a 1995 American medical disaster film directed by Wolfgang Petersen and based on Richard Preston's non-fiction book The Hot Zone. The film stars Dustin Hoffman, Rene Russo, and ...more

28

19 10

Runaway TrainJon Voight, Rebecca De Mornay, Eric Roberts Runaway Train is a 1985 American action-thriller film, directed by Andrei Konchalovsky. The screenplay by Djordje Milicevic, Paul Zindel and Edward Bunker was based on an original screenplay by ...more

29

20 11

Rambo IIISylvester Stallone, Omar Sharif, Kurtwood Smith Rambo III is a 1988 American action film. It is the third film in the Rambo series following First Blood and Rambo: First Blood Part II. Sixty-five seconds of the film were cut in the UK version ...more

30

20 11

The Hurt LockerEvangeline Lilly, Ralph Fiennes, Jeremy Renner The Hurt Locker is a 2008 American film about a three-man Explosive Ordnance Disposal team during the conflict in Iraq. The film was produced and directed by Kathryn Bigelow and the screenplay ...more

31

14 6

The Eiger SanctionClint Eastwood, George Kennedy, Vonetta McGee The Eiger Sanction is a 1975 American action thriller directed by and starring Clint Eastwood. Based on the novel The Eiger Sanction by Trevanian, the film is about an art history professor and ...more

32

18 10

Rambo: First Blood Part IISylvester Stallone, Charles Napier, Richard Crenna Rambo: First Blood Part II is a 1985 American action film directed by George P. Cosmatos and starring Sylvester Stallone. Picking up where the first film left, the sequel is set in the context ...more

33

10 3

bythewaybtw added Die HardBruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Bonnie Bedelia Die Hard is a 1988 American action film directed by John McTiernan and written by Steven E. de Souza and Jeb Stuart. It is based on the 1979 novel Nothing Lasts Forever, by Roderick Thorp. Die ...more

34

13 6

Ninja AssassinNaomie Harris, Rain, Lee Joon Ninja Assassin is a 2009 American-German martial arts film directed by James McTeigue. The story was written by Matthew Sand, with a screenplay by J. Michael Straczynski. The film stars South ...more

35

14 7

F/XAngela Bassett, Brian Dennehy, Jerry Orbach F/X is a 1986 American action-thriller film about Rollie Tyler, an expert in the art of special effects with a reputation built by his work on many low-budget hack-and-slash films such as I ...more

36

16 10

Punisher: War ZoneJulie Benz, Ray Stevenson, Dominic West This film is a 2008 comic book action film featuring the Marvel Comics character The Punisher, directed by Lexi Alexander. It is the third feature film adaptation of The Punisher and is the ...more

37

17 11

District 13Dany Verissimo, Cyril Raffaelli, David Belle District 13, is a 2004 French action film, directed by Pierre Morel and written and produced by Luc Besson. The film is notable for its depiction of parkour in a number of stunt sequences that ...more

38

17 11

BackdraftRobert De Niro, Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh Backdraft is a 1991 action thriller film directed by Ron Howard and written by Gregory Widen. The film stars Kurt Russell, William Baldwin, Scott Glenn, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Rebecca De Mornay, ...more

39

18 12

Hard TargetJean-Claude Van Damme, Lance Henriksen, Wilford Brimley Hard Target is a 1993 American action film directed by Chinese film director John Woo in his American directorial debut. The film stars Jean-Claude Van Damme as Chance Boudreaux, an out-of-work ...more

40

7 2

oliverg2028 added DeadpoolRyan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, Ed Skrein Deadpool is a 2016 American superhero film directed by Tim Miller, based on the Marvel Comics character. After being given mutant abilities with a scarred physical appearance, Wade Wilson (Ryan ...more

41

14 9

The Fourth ProtocolPierce Brosnan, Michael Caine, Ned Beatty The Fourth Protocol is a 1987 British Cold War spy film featuring Michael Caine and Pierce Brosnan, based on the novel The Fourth Protocol by Frederick Forsyth.

42

13 8

Surviving The GameIce-T, Gary Busey, Rutger Hauer Surviving the Game is a 1994 action thriller film directed by Ernest R. Dickerson, starring Ice-T, Rutger Hauer, and Gary Busey. It is loosely based on the short story "The Most Dangerous ...more

43

11 6

The Long Kiss GoodnightSamuel L. Jackson, Geena Davis, Brian Cox The Long Kiss Goodnight is a 1996 action film directed and produced by Renny Harlin, written and produced by Shane Black and starring Geena Davis and Samuel L. Jackson.

44

16 12

Underworld: EvolutionKate Beckinsale, Michael Sheen, Bill Nighy Underworld: Evolution is an American action-vampire film directed by Len Wiseman. It is the second installment in the Underworld series, following Underworld. The events of the film begin during ...more

45

11 7

Once Upon a Time in MexicoJohnny Depp, Salma Hayek, Eva Mendes Once Upon a Time in Mexico is a 2003 American action film written, produced, edited, cinematographied, scored, and directed by Robert Rodriguez. It is the third and final film in Rodriguez's ...more

46

11 7

To Live and Die in L.A.Willem Dafoe, John Turturro, Jane Leeves This film is a 1985 American action thriller film directed by William Friedkin and based on the novel by former U.S. Secret Service agent Gerald Petievich, who co-wrote the screenplay with ...more

47

10 6

The Dead PoolClint Eastwood, Jim Carrey, Axl Rose This film is a 1988 American action flim directed by Buddy Van Horn, written by Steve Sharon, and starring Clint Eastwood as Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan. It is the fifth and final ...more

49

8 4

Hard to KillSteven Seagal, Kelly LeBrock, William Sadler This film is a 1990 American action film directed by Bruce Malmuth, and starring Steven Seagal. Steven Seagal plays Detective Mason Storm, after being shot during a fire-fight that took his wife ...more

50

6 2

oliverg2028 added Sin CityJessica Alba, Bruce Willis, Mickey Rourke Sin City is a 2005 American neo-noir thriller anthology film written, produced, and directed by Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez. It is based on Miller's eponymous graphic novel Sin City. Much ...more

not on the list? add item #215

List Rules: Add your favorite movie to the list if it's missing, but only if it's the correct rating.